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Amitabh Bachchan to be invited to IFFI in Goa

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be invited to this
year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI), to be held in Goa, this
November. Invitation will be sent to the legendary actor after a gap of several
years. The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) has started the invitation
process. The Entertainment Society of Goa is the nodal agency which is
responsible for organizing the IFFI every year.

It was established by the state government in 2004, the year
in which the festival first shifted to Goa. It was also Amitabh’s first and
till date only appearance at the IFFI during the time it has been held in Goa.
The festival was originally held in Delhi and was shifted to Goa during the
35th edition. That year Big B was present as the ambassador for HIV/AIDS
awareness campaign. He was also present during the screening of a critically
acclaimed South African film on the subject.

Bachchan’s absence from the festival for such a prolonged
period has been subject of controversy. On one occasion, he was invited but
then the invitation was withdrawn at the last moment. The erstwhile Congress
party led government in Goa was blamed for this. It was said that the congress
government did not want to invite Big B because of his less than friendly
relations with the Nehru-Gandhi family. The congress party however, has always
denied that there was any political motive behind not inviting Bachchan.
Apparently, the situation has changed now that the congress party has gone from
power.

Damodar Naik, Vice-Chairman of ESG said in his statement to
PTI, “We have already begun a process to invite Amitabh Bachchan for the
festival. We all are his fans. I will be personally happy if he comes to Goa to
attend the festival.” The vice chairman hoped that the presence of the actor
will make the festival more important and popular.

It will be interesting to see whether this year the ice
between the organizers and the actor finally melts. Naik also added that
organizing work for the festival has already begun. He said, “The opening and
closing ceremonies for the festival would be held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
stadium, Bambolim, a complex which was built to host recently-concluded
Portuguese Commonwealth games. The stadium can host 9,000 people.” The central
government has recently announced Goa as the permanent venue for the IFFI. The
IFFI is scheduled to be held in Goa, from 20th to 30th November, 2014.